DemStrategist: If the media is our biggest concern/"enemy"

[malachibk]

Then why don't we have articulate, respected Democrats (not Kerry/Edwards -- that would be unseemly) criticizing the media when they are given an opportunity to do so (that is, whenever they are interviewed on FOX, CNN, MSNBC, etc.)?

I've emailed/phoned CNN dozens of times to complain about their blatant slant -- to no avail.

Republicans excel at making the issues they want to become ISSUES into "Issues" that are shoved down the public's throat in easy to swallow, terse soundbites.

Democrats have no such skill.

We should not be on the defensive and I'm glad Kerryco. isn't taking the bait. However, it is about time Democrats begin to define the debate and make our "Issues" the priority.

If we have a problem with the media, sound it on high. Put together "talking points" -- or just steal Jon Stewart's "flip-flop/hatefest" clip -- and force Americans to consider it. Why are we afraid to demand fairness and ethics??

I won't be offended if you don't have time to reply, so no worries. But sometimes, I fear, judo just ain't enough.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Judo without Koppo...

Is a watered-down art.

Google "Koppo".

While you are at it, google "Katsu" too. That is also part of real Judo.

[Karenina]

2. Kerry and Edwards

are running against the largest, most powerful and MOST CORRUPT propaganda machine the world has ever seen. The airwaves have been stolen from The People and are being used by *corporate interests to destroy them. It is a frightening sight to behold.

[molly]

19. Bingo!

timing is everything - wait.

[Kahuna]

3. Most of us have been complaining on a nonstop basis at least

since 2000. We're doing our parts. I think THEY need to be more effective. The media is truly our enemy. The don't care about our complaints. So the Democratic strategists have to do a better job of getting their message out when they are given the opportunity.

[malachibk]

12. Exactly my point

The media whores don't respond to our outcries since we don't pay their bills. But high-ranking Dems are on cable news all the time. Hijack the topic and confront those that need to be confronted -- with FACTS.

[CarolynEC]

20. "Hijack the topic" -- exactly!

Why in the world do our people sit quietly while some repug goes on and on with some vile slander or outright lie?

Like it or not, the rules of polite conversation simply do not apply in these situations. You have to interrept the repug in mid-sentence.

Doesn't require shouting and screaming. Just start talking: "No, no, that's not true" ..."How can you expect anyone to believe that, when" ... "Listen, the point here is"... etc etc etc.

Then, when the repug says, "Let me speak," say... "No, not if you're speaking lies!"

And, as many many MANY people here have said countless times, STOP REACTING!

It's possible, in a debate, to steer the discussion toward the point you yourself want to make. Do it! Our surrogates are NOT on these shows to provide a service to the show's producers. They are there to make use of the platform on behalf of our candidates.

[Kahuna]

25. Riiiight. They're so polite waiting for their turn to say something lame

and wimpy. Sheesh.

[buycitgo]

30. exactly! did anybody hear Kristol distort the facts as blatantly

as one could possibly imagine last night on Lehrer?

he said that Kerry is the one being dishonest about Yucca Mountain, cause he voted for storing waste there.

THEN he said Bush did NOT promise Nevada that he wouldn't allow storage to take place.

Well, Bill, and stupid, lazy creep Mark Shields, who just SAT there during this: Bush PROMISED NOT to send waste there until it was SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN to be safe. and THAT, my friends, will NEVER be possible.

so who's playing fast and loose with the truth, Billy-o?

EVERYBODY knows that Nevadans are furious with Bush over this policy issue flipflop, as the waste is due to start piling up there in the not too distant future, and Nevadans feel BETRAYED by Bush. that's why the state is moving in the the contested category.

[JPJones]

4. Were Al Gore's earthtones political judo?

Was his failure to clarify his statement about the invention of the internet political judo?

Have 'Dem Strategists' earned our trust?

Is political judo why the Republicans control the White House, the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court?

[Karenina]

5. The *MEDIA did all that

and much, much more.

[JPJones]

6. And Dem Strategists told Al Gore

to not say anything about the lies that were being told about him. They told him to be less confrontational in the second debates. The Dem Strategists gave the Republicans free reign over the media by refusing to respond to anything. Political judo = political hari kari.

[CarolynEC]

22. That's the key... the "strategists" taking over...

I do feel Gore listened to strategists too much, rather than just being himself.

All we need to win this thing is... John Kerry. He's got the guts to lead. He's got the smarts to lead. And I don't think he's the type of guy AT ALL to be guided around by the nose by a bunch of political handlers. So I'm hoping -- and expecting -- to see him getting more aggressive in the months ahead.

Just take charge of the boat JK, and we'll be fine. We'll win this thing by a mile!

:)

[Kahuna]

26. Right. And media will continue to do it. And there is nothing we can..

do until we win back the White House to make them stop doing it. Dem strategist needs a new strategy. Because getting the media to behave responsibly is not going to happen. We've been trying to do that for years. They don't care what we think.

[Karenina]

35. I don't agree there's nothing to be done.

There are enough "outsourced" people with more time than they want on their hands to make it impossible for the *corporate LIARS who have STOLEN the airwaves to conduct their LYING "business as usual."

As we say in D'Englisch, YOU have to KNOW IT.

[Kahuna]

38. Yeah right. Did you see the way they ignored us and ridiculed us

when millions of us marched in the street over the Iraq invasion. That's millions, baby. They didn't care. As I have noted. We have contacted them every day. Every single day. To no avail. And we'll continue to do so. But please don't assume because they continue to whore for the bushes it's not because we haven't been doing our part. We have been.

[Karenina]

39. Please, Kahuna

I make NO SUCH ASSUMPTION. Watching the *corporate media DESTROY AMERICA is enough to make anyone testy. Certainly you have been on the front lines. They will carry on with "business-as-usual until they are FORCED to change. WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN???

[Kahuna]

42. The only way we change the media to take back the white house...

and have reforms. Put them on the hot seat and let them explain why we should not re institute the fairness doctorate. Show them clips and transcripts of their biased coverage. Until we get the white house back we are unfortunately at their mercy. Should we continue to contact the media? Of course we should. We are outraged on a daily basis and we contact them on a daily basis. Yet, they continue to ignore us. I believe they get some kind of perverse satisfaction from our pleadings. It's as if they know they're getting to us so they continue to taunt us.

[malachibk]

41. But are the Dems that get to go on TV and have articles published

Doing their part? It's clear that millions of citizens don't make a dent in the media's shell, that's why it's imperative that those Dems that are "allowed" air time make the most of it.

Somebody with a voice and an entry pass needs to make a big stink.

Why is that not happening?

[havocmom]

7. There are plenty of articulate DEMS. They don't stand a chance of being

employed or even fairly heard on corporate owned media which is operated to further corporate agenda. THAT is why we have direct our fight to the media. There is no way in hell they are gonna tell truths if their owners want propaganda.

Yes, we need to go beyond defense, but since the media is owned by the opposition, a large chunk of us will have to work against that 24/7 so a few others can define our agenda.

Only way to neutralize the media bias is to expose it each and every time it gets between the public and the truth. Eventually, enough of the public will get the message that the media is NOT the message and then we can spend more time getting our points out.

[malachibk]

13. Are there articulate Dems invited to speak on cable news?

Of the Dem officials I see on TV (Pelosi, Daschle, etc.) the only one who can get a clear message across is Sharpton and he comes with too much baggage to be taken more than 75% seriously.

The Dems in "power" are not well spoken. They need to be.

You and I don't get any airtime.

[havocmom]

15. Well, of course the corporate media isn't gonna let well spoken DEMS

on the air! That is the point and that is what we need to fight. Problem is not a lacking of people who can communicate. Problem is the opposition owns the airways which are supposed to belong to the public. Problem stated in the 80s when the far right started changing laws to allow for it to happen.

[Karenina]

17. Let's BLITZ 'em.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2209865&mesg_id=2209865

[Shopaholic]

21. They'd prefer to inteview Zell Miller or Lieberman

who are nominal Democrats and who both ought to be kicked out of the party!

[DemBones DemBones]

8. While Kerry isn't taking the bait, the media are beating him up for

not responding to charges made against him, or for not responding strongly enough.

[Kahuna]

32. Right. The media's position seems to be that unless Kerry addresses

the accusations they will keep on giving repukes all the air time they want to keep repeating the lies. It's like a little game with them.

[DemBones DemBones]

36. Yep. And I think they can do a much better job of answering w/o

going negative. Sticking up for yourself and setting the record straight is important. If you don't do it, people start believing the RW crap.

[WyLoochka]

9. DS, Please 86 the word "misleading"

Completely - bury it - it does not work. Dems have been using it for years - and it falls on deaf ears.

Please use stronger, more direct words such as, DECEITFUL - FALSE - DISHONEST - LIES when taking our very merited charges against BushCo to the media.

And when pundits ask the inevitable question, "gasp You're not saying BushCo has been lying, are you?" tell those weak reps that are sent out to the media to not waffle for even a fraction of a second and to not offer even a hint of an apology when they shoot back - "Of course I am. I'm calling it like it is. I am under no obligation to cover up for BushCo and neither are you Ms/Mr Pundit, that's Karl Rove's job. My obligation, and yours, is to give the unvarnished truth to the American people."

And keep Joe Lieberman entirely hidden and muzzled. I am beyond fury over his attacks on his fellow Dems. He was 100% more aggressive in attacking Howard Dean over the guy's correct perception regarding the terror alert 2 weeks ago than he has ever been with BushCo. He doesn't speak for us, he saps our enthusiasm and he turns off potential voters.

While you're at it, keep Al From and Will Marshall away from all keyboards for the duration of the campaign and the subsequent Kerry Administration. They have been getting away with doing gross damage to the Democratic Party for far too long. It's time for them to shut-up, pack-up and get out of town.

My 2 cents

[quaoar]

11. Kerry shouldn't do that

He shouldn't call Bush a liar or say anything else that sounds like name-calling. Kerry needs to stay above that and look like a president (a real one).

The job of calling Bush a liar should fall to surrogates.

[WyLoochka]

14. I didn't say Kerry himself

should call Bushco liars. I was referring to the Dem representatives and Kerry surrogates sent out for face time on the tube.

They need to be trained to use more direct language and to not flinch, even for a second and to never apologize.

Body language is as important as verbal language. For technique, surrogates need to watch Sharpton's DNC speech and recent interviews over and over and over again. Sharpton NEVER flinches and NEVER apologizes and he says exactly what he thinks very clearly. If the Dems who get face time could all learn this - speak with spine - technique, we would be able to break through the Repub "Noise Machine."

[blondeatlast]

16. Yep, rhetoric matters, and ours needs to be stronger. nt

[democrank]

10. The spineless mainstream media

seem mired in a cesspool of trivial crap. They`re willing to nix the unpleasant photos of suffering in Sudan for a ratings-grabbing shot of Michael Jackson dancing on the hood of a car. That`s why we get treated to Bush in his rented flight suit,a replay of the replay of the Dean scream or a rubber-gloved hero picking lice out of Saddam`s head.

Ever ask yourself why context is usually missing? That would neither fit in with the 30-second sound bite nor help with the rush to the wrinkle cream commercial. The scripted newsreaders would seem so...so...unpatriotic if they ever veered off on their own and asked Ed Gillespie about hawkish Cheney`s umpteen Vietnam War deferments. Much more fun to gab about how many houses Heinz/Kerry own, proof right there they`re not ordinary folks like the Bush Team.

Michael Moore, Howard Dean and others grabbed attention because they were willing to speak outside the box. That`s what we have to do. Let`s forget this Mr. Nice Guy routine...my friends across the aisle stuff...and get control of the dialogue. Bush has some explaining to do.

[Cocoa]

18. a small success story

some ordinary news readers, and a great piece of journalism in Salon, got the NYT to retract its pro-Bush LIE.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=109x12018

[malachibk]

23. Well, that's nice to read

Though I sure would like it better if the NYT printed the truth the first time around!

[ScreamingMeemie]

24. Howard Dean tried that on Hardball...

And from that moment on was effectively taken down.

[malachibk]

27. Well then we need a better speaker, more charming speaker than H. Dean

That includes 95% of us here on DU and most of everybody else, too.

[ScreamingMeemie]

28. Speak for self.

Thanks. :hi:

And, on edit: Gov Dean continues to raise money, huge amounts of money for the Democratic Party; and has also raised awareness of the need for change from the gound up. Not too bad for someone who lacks charm...:eyes:

[Karenina]

29. Dean targeted the media

and they took him OUT im*media-tely. Had nothin' to do with "charm."

[buycitgo]

31. guess, what? I TALKED to Joe Trippi about that last night.....

he was on a radio show, and THAT was my question: are the media behind the pugs, and what can be done about it.

he had ALREADY stated that HIS take on why Dean lost was the point at which GORE gave him his endorsement. he said that from that moment on, ALL eight candidates focused on him, and the he couldn't deal with the simultaneous attacks

that's what he said; I don't agree, cause I believe the concentration of media speeches are what did it to him, but Trippi, who's certainly in a position to know, thinks otherwise

I still don't know if I agree with that, and his further insistence that media isn't the main problem---he insists it's the massive amounts of money being spent in the campaigns

that's all well and good, and needs to END, but over a hundred million bucks worth of media buys sure isn't getting Kerry the kind of asskissing press that the chimp is getting

I've said before that Kerry etal NEED to make the media main component of their campaign. they'd do well to take a few meals with Robert McChesney, who lays it all out, and shows quite CLEARLY how media concentration is the greatest enemy (part and parcel of economic globalization) of democracy. What it does is make ECONOMIC democracy impossible, which is necessary for what we consider ACTUAL, or political democracy to take hold.

we haven't had that for some time, witness the latest numbers on Bush's tax cuts further redistributing wealth to the wealthiest among us.

[Karenina]

34. No No Nanette!

:silly: The "DEAN SCREAM" did the trick. It was a simple one sound-bite campaign. For all of Trippi's experience, perhaps he needs to step back and get some perspective. Yeah, Gore's endorsement was the "kiss of death." :eyes: Ficken DLC! MONEY drives the media. Now tell me again why candidates need SO MUCH MONEY? COULD IT BE FOR MEDIA..... or SATAN??? :evilgrin: May the spirit of Marshall McLuhan slap Trippi upside his haid and into next week!

"...media concentration is the greatest enemy (part and parcel of economic globalization) of democracy."

John Kerry is not "running against *poster boy." He us up against a state-of-the-art *MIGHTY WURLITZER. To anyone viewing the situation from afar it's a no-brainer that although JK is NOT Moschiach, he's a helluva sight better than that drunken monkey paper doll *cowboy you be lettin' hold the reins today.

[malachibk]

33. Let me clarify...

Dr. Dean did indeed do a lot for this party in terms of infusing it with energy and a bit of truth. For that, I am thankful.

However, as a candidate (and a TV host, I must say) he lacks the charm and charisma it takes to woo 1/2 the population. He comes across, IMHO, as uncomfortable/nervous in an interview.

I shouldn't have been so harsh, though. Sorry.

[Guaranteed]

40. I disagree anyway.

I think he's a straight-shooter, which is extremely attractive to people. People can trust him. They LIKE him.

[Gloria]

37. As I implored Kerry in an article last April..."Stop Pontificating, Start

Prosecuting!" (archived at Buzzflash Media Watch)

One way is to pummel Bush with QUESTIONS, just like Bush did with the IWR vote question...

A QUESTION A DAY....gets air time and pressures Bush......